Henry Pelham

25 September 1694 (Laughton, Sussex) - 6 March 1754 (London). British Prime Minister.

He was the son of Thomas, 1st Lord of Pelham and went to Westminster School and later to Oxford. He was married to Lady Catherine Manners and together they had eight children.

In 1717, Pelham, who was a Whig supporter, became Member of Parliament for Seaford, Sussex, and for the county of Sussex from 1722 until 1754 respectively. His political success was greatly influenced by his older brother Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle. The two of them are sometimes referred to as “the Pelhams”.

Henry Pelham held several offices in parliament, most notably among them his becoming First Lord of the Treasury i.e. Prime Minister in August 1743, an office he had refused in 1742 out of friendship for Robert Walpole, who had to resign his office. He then became Chancellor of the Exchequer in December 1743. Together with his brother, who was a member of the House of Lords, Pelham had a lot of power during the reign of George II.

In February 1746, Pelham’s term of office was interrupted for three days by George II who tried to make the Earl of Granville Prime Minister. In return, Pelham then called for a mass resignation of ministers. Granville did not get support from parliament and therefore was unable to form a new ministry. Hence Pelham, who did have the parliament's support, was reinstated.

Pelham was generally known for his “ability to unite different political factions” (Number10.gov.uk). His domestic politics aimed at social and financial reforms. For instance, he restructured the National Debt which led to a stable period of government. In contrast, his attempt at strengthening the rights of Jews was futile.

The most important political conflicts Pelham was involved in were the Jacobite Rising in 1745, the War of the Austrian Succession (1748) and the subsequent peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). The last two of these in effect meant peace with France - which thereby recognised the House of Hanover in Britain and repudiated the pretender Charles Edward Stuart - and also stopped the “financial drain on the country” (Encyclopaedia Britannica). After the war Pelham also reduced the military forces and cut the land tax. Another result of the peace was that trade connections with Spain were initiated as well.

Pelham died in office, supposedly of his bad physical condition (too much food, too little exercise) and a series of illnesses he had had throughout his life. His brother, the Duke of Newcastle, succeeded Henry Pelham as Prime Minister in 1754.

Miscellaneous

Pelham established the Gregorian calendar in 1752 so that the year started on January 1 instead of March 25 and the British "lost" 11 days. Other sources claim that Philip Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, established the Gregorian calendar.

Sources

Holmes, Geoffrey, and Szechi, Daniel. The Age of Oligarchy. Pre-Industrial Britain. 1722-1783. London: Longman, 1993.

"Henry Pelham." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 02 Nov. 2009 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/449178/Henry-Pelham>.

“Henry Pelham.” Number10.gov.uk. The Official Site of the Prime Minister’s Office. Prime Ministers in History. n.d. 2 Nov 2009 <http://www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/prime-ministers-in-history/henry-pelham>.

“Biography of Henry Pelham.” Manuscripts and Special Collections. n.d. The University of Nottingham. 2 Nov 2009 <http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/collectionsindepth/family/newcastle/biographies/biographyofhenrypelham%28c1695-1754;primeminister%29.aspx>.